Grassroots Farm Magazine Nov 2017

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MAGAZINE

November 2017

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Inside: • Machinery News • Animal Health at Housing • Best Practice Drying Off • Farming News and Events • The Future in Tillage - AgRobots

don’t miss this great Farming Family day with something for everyone!!!

• • • • •

With over 150 Trade Stands Handling & Cattle Displays Tractor & Loader Demo Artisan Food Village Cookery Demo with TV Chef

Millstreet, Co. Cork • Farm Safety • NDS Innovation Award saturday 21st oCtober • Rural Crime Prevention Find Out More on • Live Hoof Care Demo www.nationaldairyshow.com and much, much more!

WELCOME

CONTENTS News Mercosur 3 Youth Survey 6 Budget 2018 7 Beef Biosecurity 8 Winter Nutrition 10 Food Chain 12 Hereford 13 Event Feature National Dairy Show Breeding Opinion National Dairy Show IHFA Innovation Award

14 15 18 19

Dairy Drying Off

23

Machinery Tractor & Loader New Gator Trailer Licence Machinery News

24 25 26 27

Tillage AgRobots

28

Macra Youth Macra Bowling Technic Baler

29 29

Agri-Business Grassroots News

I

t is a pleasure to bring you our November issue of Grassroots Farm Magazine. We are at a time of change, both in the farming industry and also here at Grassroots.

This issue highlights some of the exciting developments that is coming next month from our small dedicated team. We also look at the issues at housing. The winter period is vital in the profitability of any livestock unit.

We are delighted to be able to bring you best practice advise from leaders in the industry.

Best practice at drying off is the start of next year’s lactation. This is covered in detail so that this crucial set is done in the most effective way. The tillage industry is under financial pressure. Technology may be the best way to reduce cost of production In this issue we look at the future of technology in the sector, mainly AgRobots.

In machinery, we look at the new John Deere Gator, the special Case IH and the issue of trailer licenses. The National Dairy Show is part of our Event Feature. The Millstreet based event sees Tractor Loader Demonstrations, the best show cows in Ireland and an innovation award.

Next month we get bigger and better than ever. We will again produce our free publication but be looking out for our gloss issue in Mid-November.

Subscription details are on page 30. We can’t wait to show you what we have in store for you. This month’s publication comes to you free due to our advertisers. I want to take this time to encourage you to support them and mention love from Grassroots Farm.

Now please take time from your busy schedule to sit back and enjoyGrassroots Farm.

Until next time, Jason Webb.

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Correspondence Grassroots Media Ltd, Ballinoe Hse, Ballinhassig, Co. Cork.

Editorial: Editor: Jason Webb Email: editorgrassroots@gmail.com Tweets: twitter.com/Ed_GrassRoots Friend: facebook.com/ed.grassroots Advertising: (086)4684411 advertgrassroots@gmail.com Advertising Consultant: William Wills (086)4664488 Contributors: Donald Toolan Brian Garry Tom Baker Don Crowley IDTechEx Publisher: Grassroots Media Ltd Next Issue out - Mid November Distribution – 15,000 Like us on Facebook: www.fb.com/grassrootsfarmmag Grassroots Magazine is published by Grassroots Media Ltd, Ballinoe Hse, Ballinhassig, Co. Cork. Tel 086 3871172 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any shape or form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocoping or otherwise without written permission of the publishers, Grassroots Media Ltd. Whilst every care is taken of submitted MSS, photographs, drawings and content, no responsibility can be accepted for their loss or damage. Grassroots Media Ltd does not accept responsibility for the quality or content of advertisements or articles supplied by, or compiled under instruction from a third party. Grassroots Media Ltd do es not accept responsibility for any loss or damage caused by opinion, tips and advice giving in this publication.

Grassroots Media Ltd accepts no responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors and advertisers. In addition, while every care is taken to ensure accuracy of information contained in Grassroots Magazine, we do not accept responsibility for any errors or matters arising same.

Copyright Grassroots Media Ltd

NEWS

IRISH FARMING COMMUNITY

UNITED IN CONDEMNING MERCOSUR

W

ith reports from Brussels that the EU Commission have agreed a new substantial offer on beef for the Mercosur trade negotiations, the farming community has reacted quickly to condemn the move.

Protests have been held outside the EU Commission offices in Mount Street in Dublin. IFA President Joe Healy said it is a major mistake for the EU Commission to make this offer at this time given the huge uncertainty over Brexit and the ongoing scandals in Brazil over their failure to meet EU standards.

He said, it is incredible that, despite strong objections from 11 EU member states, led by Ireland and France, the EU Commission are hell bent on making additional concessions to the Brazilians and other Latin American countries at a very high cost to Irish and European beef farmers.

IFA National Livestock chairman Angus Woods commented “The Mercosur countries already have too much access to the European market with up to 74% of all EU beef imports amounting to 246,000t (carcase weight equivalent) every year.”

Angus Woods continued “The Commission are way too lenient with Brazil and others over their continuing failure to meet EU standards on the key issues of traceability, food safety, animavl health and the environment.”

“The fact remains that the EU relies on the Brazilian authorities to certify beef imports and the record shows that they are not capable of meeting EU standards.”

ICSA president Patrick Kent has said he is outraged that the European Commission has decided to propose a 70,000 ton beef quota as part of the Mercosur trade deal.

“This amounts to a complete sell out of beef farmers across Europe with the likelihood that Irish farmers will feel the brunt. It defies logic to agree to a quota that will have such a detrimental effect on a native industry that is already under severe pressure. ” “The Mercosur countries have failed to meet EU standards on the fundamental issues of food safety and traceability. EU beef farmers have endeavoured over many years to ensure the very highest standards are met at every stage of production.”

“Agreeing to allow more and more inferior quality beef into Europe simply cannot be justified.”

In addition Mr Kent said “Coupled with what we know of inferior South American production practices, poor animal welfare regulations and disregard for environmental considerations makes it even more galling that the Commission should agree to this concession.”

Macra na Feirme President James Healy called the EU’s efforts to secure a trade pact with South America’s Mercosur bloc ‘grossly irresponsible’ and called for a full impact assessment of all EU trade deals.

He said, “The mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles of our members are protesting with the IFA over beef access into the EU under Mercosur.

Macra na Feirme support them in their efforts to highlight the absolutely detrimental impact this would have on Irish and European beef farming.”

“Negotiating a trade deal with South American countries that has such a potential negative impact on our largest indigenous industry is grossly

irresponsible especially when the impacts of Brexit are still unknown.”

“Macra na Feirme recognises the importance of successful EU trade deals, but such deals should not be made at the cost of sacrificing agriculture. We believe that a full impact assessment on all trade deals, current and prospective, must be undertaken before any deal is agreed on Mercosur.”

President James Healy continued, “We need balanced trade deals that benefit European and Irish farmers; trade deals that recognise the threats and impacts of Brexit. Entering into a Mercosur with such a large quantity of the EU beef market available to countries that do not meet equivalent European standards is reckless.”

Mr. John Comer, President of ICMSA, said that the 11 countries that had stood against the offer must now band together and make it plain to the Commission that the reported offer cannot proceed, he said that the Irish

"The notion of 70,000 tonnes of South American beef arriving into the EU at precisely the same time as we would be losing our UK market as nothing less than madness."

John Comer position was the most vulnerable with in excess of 50% of all our beef going to a UK market about which there was little or no certainty after 2019.

He described the idea that Ireland could even entertain the notion of 70,000 tonnes of South American beef arriving into the EU at precisely the same time as we would be losing our UK market as nothing less than madness and were the deal to proceed it had to be seen, according to Mr Comer, as a conscious decision on the part of the Commission’s to sacrifice the EU’s beef sector as a quid-pro-quo in an overall trade agreement Economics aside, the ICMSA President said there were the most serious questions about how this proposal would facilitate an expansion of the South American beef sector which he said was already notorious for its non-existent commitment to environmental considerations and sustainability and also for – certainly in the case of Brazil – repeated breaches of the most fundamental standards of food safety.

He concluded “It was hypocritical, at the very least, of the Commission to be pressurising EU farmers on the questions of Nitrates and publicly discussing how overall methane emissions might be reduced while ‘Green Lighting’ an import quota with a beef sector that was absolutely unbothered by either question and whose chief concern was how to clear forest and ‘move’ indigenous peoples so that their lands could be pressed into the most rapacious form of beef production.”

“Agreeing to allow more and more inferior quality beef into Europe simply cannot be justified.”

Patrick Kent GRASS ROOTS

November 2017 03

NEWS

NEWS

KILDALTON OPEN SOURCE SUSTAINABLE DAIRY FARM OPEN DAY Teagasc and Glanbia Ireland are holding an Open Day for dairy farmers on the Kildalton Open Source Sustainable Demonstration Farm on Thursday, 19th October from 10.00am to 2.00pm.

The dairy unit at the Teagasc Kildalton Agricultural College, Piltown, Co Kilkenny, is a showcase for sustainable dairying which has been set up in a joint initiative between Teagasc and Glanbia Ingredients Ireland (GII).

The farm demonstrates the best sustainable management practices that will deliver social, economic and environmental benefits on Irish dairy farms. The most valuable markets for Irish milk are demanding dairy products that are produced using sustainable systems that can be independently verified.

The Teagasc Kildalton farm is helping to boost the sustainability of Irish dairy farming by benchmarking the key sustainability indicators of the unit and identifying opportunities to improve performance.

Lessons learned are being passed on to dairy farmers to help improve their profitability and environmental performance.

At the Open Day on the 19th October, the key components of sustainable dairying will be explained and demonstrated by leading researchers and advisors from Teagasc and the Advisory teams from Glanbia Ireland. Ways to meet the challenges of achieving high production, good environmental protection, high animal welfare, a good work/life balance and a good living, will be presented and discussed with farmers at the Open Day.

Glanbia Ireland CEO Jim Bergin said that “Glanbia recognises and actively uses Ireland’s advantages in sustainability as a key point of difference in global dairy markets.”

“Through Origin Green and the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme Audits Glanbia Ireland is actively proving to customers the sustainability credentials of our milk suppliers’ dairy products”.

At Kildalton, Teagasc aims to continuously improve the sustainability of the dairy farm seeking new opportunities to improve performance in practical and financially sound ways.

The Carbon Navigator and the Nutrient Management Plan are both tools that point to how to improve performance and economic returns.

Commenting on the current sustainability status of Irish farming, Ger Shortle, Teagasc and joint project leader said: “Fortunately Ireland is starting from a relatively good sustainability position, however, we need to ‘up our game’ to meet the challenges created by the expected doubling of global food demand by 2050.”

“The Kildalton Sustainable Dairy Farm Open Day will show farmers how to go about tackling the challenges.”

“The Kildalton Open Source Sustainable Demonstration Farm will play a central role in supporting the Irish dairy sector in reaching its sustainability goals and is a valuable resource for the dairy sector.”

GRASS ROOTS

November 2017 05

NEWS

EU Survey Show Young Farmers

Need Fair Income Level A new European wide survey highlighted the main issues facing young farmers as they look to further a career in agriculture.

Based on a questionnaire, the objective was to discover the opinion of young farmers in relation to the sustainability of the agricultural sector, together with the challenges they face and the opportunities they see in being a young farmer.

Macra na Feirme National President James Healy welcomed the publication of the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) Survey of young farmers.

A fair income level (59.20%) is the first most important factor for the development of an economically sustainable farm.

Today access to land is the most significant barrier for young people wanting to enter and remain in the agricultural sector and this is confirmed by the result in which the respondents have selected access to land (50.82%) as the second one most relevant factor for the development of an economically sustainable farm.

Another important factor identified by the respondents is the simplification of administrative procedures (42.23%).

Harmonised and simplified legislation among Member States that is valid in the long term is key and it enables a sense of trust to be created thereby encouraging farmers to invest and remain in the sector.

Lastly, fair competition from global markets (39.47%) is also seen as imperative. Young farmers are eager to embrace innovation, smart agriculture and science-based research to guarantee a sustainable, profitable and productive future for farming.

The survey results suggest there is a correlation between the problem of access to land and the will to invest in land expansion.

In order to achieve a sustainable agricultural sector, young farmers must invest and gain access to land to set up and develop their farm, acquire new or used machinery, optimise their technology and diversify activities on their farm.

Concerning on-farm investments it can be observed that the following investments figure as the most relevant: farmland expansion (42.13%), knowledge development (38.85%), farm management optimisation technology (33.33%) and infrastructure improvement (30.57%).

Interestedly, when the Irish results are singled out, knowledge development rose to over 62% highlighting the hunger young Irish farmers have for greater knowledge.

The factor that is perceived as most needed inorder to deliver the best environmental benefits while simultaneously ensuring profitable production from sustainable agriculture is: measures that are practical to implement on the ground (68.10%).

It is worth noting that this was particularly higher in Irish respondents at over 81%.

Young farmers believe that their work must be recognised as public goods for civil society. Young farmers endeavour to protect biodiversity, promote human health, and enhance soil structure and fertility while ensuring the continuation of sustainable rural landscapes.

Receiving recognition from civil society of the provision of public goods by farmers was chosen by 54.81% of the respondents. Young farmers are environmentally conscious and aware of current and future environmental and agricultural sustainability issues and challenges. At the forefront of their land management practices are environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. The survey shows that for young farmers, the benefits of contributing to environmental sustainability through agricultural practices are sustained biodiversity and ecosystems (60.02%), protected and enhanced natural resources (55.32%), and efficiency improvement (36.30%).

Looking at sustainability from a social perspective, there is a need to modernise the vocational training provided in rural regions as demonstrated by the fact that 58.28% of the respondents consider education and training opportunities as most necessary to a vibrant and sustainable lifestyle.

Programmes that promote learning among farmers are required for efficient and effective knowledge transfer. Access to education for families with children is also important within rural communities. Young people in rural areas must be given access to the services afforded to their urban colleagues.

The same facilities that are made available in towns and cities – such as high speed broadband – should also be present in rural areas.

06

There is a need to ensure a countryside in which young farmers can develop their farm and lead a fulfilling life.

Young farmers consider social opportunities (50.51%), widespread fast broadband (41.92%) and transport connectivity (40.70%) as necessary to leading a vibrant and sustainable lifestyle in a rural community.

The necessity of having widespread fast broadband was understandably high in Ireland over 89% of Irish respondence.

A minority (20.86%) of young farmers thinks that a viable future in the sector is very likely.

However, it is worth noting that 40.90% consider their future as young farmers to be somewhat likely. Therefore, when the two results are taken into consideration, a majority of young farmers (61.76%) believes that, personally and professionally, a viable future as a young farmer could be possible under certain circumstances.

The young farmers who think that a viable future in the sector is very and somewhat likely in Ireland was more positive at almost 76%. At the launch of the survey findings, National President James Healy highlighted the findings that over 50% of young farmers need access to land to develop their farm in an economically sustainable way. Speaking at the launch, President Healy highlighted the Macra na Feirme established Land Mobility Service as a successful and independent model that supports generational renewal.

The Land Mobility Service has facilitated over 280 collaborations over the past three years between young and older farmers. “This is an important survey to capture the sentiment of young farmers across the EU. From an Irish young farmer perspective, the survey reveals that 81% of Irish young farmers surveyed believe that practical and implementable measures are needed to safeguard the environment.”

“It is not surprising to read within the suvey findings, that 89% of Irish young farmers highlight the necessity of widespread fast broadband as an essential requirement to support a vibrant and sustainable lifestyle in rural areas.”

“As Ireland’s young farmer and rural youth organisation, Macra na Feirme have consistently highlighted the importance of equal access to broadband as cities and towns.”

“Over the past few years with advancements in technology, the lack of available and widespread rural broadband is now distinct competitive disadvantage for rural young people operating their farming businesses.”

“Capturing Young Farmer sentiment of a viable future was an important part of the survey.”

“As a sector, we need to take sector wide approach to encouraging and supporting careers across the farming community. The constant negativity that exists relating to high costs, barriers to entry for young farmers, financial uncertainty, and challenges associated with work-life balances are discouraging new entrants to the

sector.”

Marca Na Feirme President James Healy

Budget 2018

NEWS

for Farmers • No change to the income tax rates.

• An increase of €750 in the income tax standard rate band for all earners, from €33,800 to €34,550 for single individuals and from €42,800 to €43,550 for married one earner couples.

• The Earned Income Tax Credit has been increased by €200 to €1,150.

• An increase in the Home Carer Tax Credit from €1,100 to €1,200.

• The first two Universal Social Charge rates have been reduced by 2.5% to 2% and 5% to 4.75% respectively. There will be an €600 increase to €19,372 for the second USC band ceiling.

• Change of rate of Stamp Duty on Non-Residential Property from 2% to 6%.

• Extension of Consanguinity Relief for a further three years.

• The exemption from stamp duty for young trained farmers is to be continued.

• €5 per week increase in weekly social welfare payments including Farm Assist from the last week of March 2018.

• No change in the Capital Tax rates – Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT).

• Targeted Agriculture Measures Scheme (TAMS) to increase funding by €20 million.

• €25 million extra funding for Areas of Natural Constraint.

• €25 million Brexit response in form of low interest loans for Farmers, Fishermen and Food Businesses.

ICMSA Reaction The imposition of a 6% Stamp Duty rate on farmland sales is a seriously retrograde step that will impact very negatively on particularly those small and medium sized farmers trying to purchase some land in order to improve the viability of their farms into the future.

On the basis that that is presumably not what the Government wants to do, it will be necessary to introduce a provision in the context of the Finance Bill that will address this issue for farmers and for the rural areas that these ambitious family farms backbone, according to John Comer, President of ICMSA. Mr. Comer said that the decision to impose such a charge on a family farm buying even a small piece of land stands in very sharp contrast to the concession given to property developers whereby a developer will get a refund of the stamp duty if development commences within 30 months.

“We’ve a situation where developer spending millions buying land – and likely to make very substantial profits from house building – will qualify for a refund while a family farm perhaps buying a small piece of land and taking out a loan over maybe 20 years to pay for the land will be hit with a 6% stamp duty rate with absolutely no refunds. I don’t think that any reasonable person could describe that as fair or even-handed.

ICMSA is calling for the inclusion of a provision in the Finance Bill that deals with this manifestly unfair aspect of the increase in Stamp Duty announced in the Budget”, said Mr. Comer.

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November 2017 07

BEEF

Biosecurity in Beef Herds Donal Toolan, Parasite Control Technical Working Group, Animal Health Ireland

Before housing is a good time to ensure that as much as possible is done to minimise the introduction of disease to the herd (bioexclusion) and to minimise the risk of spread of disease already present in the herd (biocontainment).

Weaning: Weaning should be done gradually, preferably in batches, and calves should be eating at least 1 kg/ head daily of concentrate feed at weaning time. Ideally, home-bred weanlings should be weaned several weeks before housing or sale. Castration and dehorning should not coincide with weaning and housing. If weanlings are being vaccinated, the vaccination course should be started sufficiently early so that animals are fully protected before housing or sale.

Purchased weanlings: If weanlings are being purchased, they should be sourced from as few farms as possible, and preferably from farms of known disease status.

Ideally, they should be moved directly from farm-to-farm, should be weaned at least two weeks prior to sale and eating concentrate feed, and should not have been castrated or dehorned in the previous four weeks.

They should be fully vaccinated against clostridial and respiratory diseases. If weanlings are being assembled from multiple sources, they should be mixed outdoors for a week or two before housing.

Lungworm vaccination: For calves born in the autumn, vaccination against lungworm (hoose) prior to turnout in spring should be considered.

BVD: Any PI animal (persistently infected with BVD virus) remaining in the herd should be slaughtered immediately. If such an animal comes in contact with animals in early pregnancy that have not been previously exposed to BVD virus, abortions or the birth of further PI animals might occur.

Body Condition Scoring (BCS): Body condition (fatness) of cows should be assessed and individual animals needing to lose or gain condition should be identified and fed accordingly. Silage should be analysed to determine its nutritive value and advice obtained on the appropriate feeding levels necessary to ensure that cows calve at optimum BCS. Mineral/Trace Elements: All animals should be given a suitable balanced mineral/trace element supplement. Cows should be given a precalving mineral/trace element supplement for at least six weeks before calving. Supplemental minerals and trace elements should be provided from one source only as overdosing will lead to toxicity.

Liver fluke prevention: If liver fluke or rumen fluke is a problem on a farm, the feasibility of drainage of wet areas or of fencing them off should be considered.

Housing - Ventilation: Winter accommodation should be checked to ensure that there is sufficient capacity for the numbers of stock intended to be over-wintered. Buildings should be checked to ensure that there is adequate ventilation without draughts at animal level. Allow for the growth of animals over the winter when calculating space allowance and ventilation

08 GRASS ROOTS

November 2017

requirements.

- Isolation and calving facilities: There should be a sufficient number of individual calving boxes, depending on herd size and the compactness of the calving pattern. There should also be adequate isolation facilities for animals that are ill. The calving area should be completely separate from the isolation area.

Parasite control in cattle at housing Parasites: Housing provides an ideal opportunity for treating cattle for parasites. As the animals will not be grazing for several months, they will not have the opportunity of being re-infected with stomach/gut worms, lungworms, liver fluke or rumen fluke.

The Animal Health Ireland (AHI) leaflet “A Guide to Parasite Control at Housing� discusses in much greater detail all the points raised here.

A short note such as this can highlight only general principles. It is important for every farmer to discuss these matters with his/her own veterinary practitioner and to get farm-specific advice.

Important points to remember are: Stomach worms - Inhibited Ostertagia larvae:

Stomach worms - Inhibited Ostertagia larvae: During the autumn, larvae of the stomach worm Ostertagia – a cause of winter scours may become dormant for long periods (months) in the stomach wall. As levamisole (yellow drench) is not effective against these inhibited Ostertagia larvae, it should not be used at this time of year (including any combination wormer/flukicides that contain levamisole as the wormer).

BEEF

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BEEF Continued from page 8

Benzimidazoles (white drenches) and avermectins are effective against these inhibited larvae.

Liver fluke: Liver fluke: The need for dosing for liver fluke is based on grazing history, history of previous liver fluke disease on the farm, and rainfall during the summer and autumn. The Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine issues a national liver fluke forecast every autumn but this must be interpreted in the light of previous disease history on an individual farm.

The Beef Health Check programme gives useful information on the prevalence of liver fluke in individual farms. The recording by the programme of live fluke in a proportion of cattle slaughtered during the spring of 2017 indicates that adequate treatment regimes at or during housing are not in place in all herds.

Choice of flukicide: Timing of dosing for liver fluke and the interval at which doses need to be repeated depend on the drug used – see AHI leaflet on “Liver fluke”.

- Triclabendazole kills early-immature, late-immature and adult fluke. It can be administered two weeks after housing and one treatment should be sufficient for the housing period provided no resistance to the drug is present.

- Closantel, nitroxynil and rafoxanide are effective against adult and late immature liver fluke. If a single treatment is being used, it should be delayed until at least 6 - 8 weeks after housing.

- Albendazole , oxyclozanide and clorsulon are effective against adult fluke only. If the risk of fluke is low, a single treatment in January should be effective; if high, cattle could be treated at housing and again 6-12 weeks later.

Outwintering: If cattle are outwintered on fluke-infested ground, repeat treatments may be needed during the winter to control liver fluke disease.

Rumen fluke: Rumen fluke are widespread in Irish cattle but usually, do not cause clinical disease. However, a few cases have been reported where serious losses (deaths) were recorded. If cattle are thriving well, finding rumen fluke eggs in a faecal sample does not necessarily imply that treatment for rumen fluke is required.

If deaths or poor animal performance due to rumen fluke have been previously diagnosed on your farm, your veterinary practitioner may advise treatment for rumen fluke. There is no drug licensed in Ireland for the treatment of rumen fluke but oxyclozanide is effective. In most farms, in most years, liver fluke is much more significant than rumen fluke. As oxyclozanide is only effective against adult liver fluke and not against immature liver fluke, it is important that the timing of treatment for rumen fluke also takes into account the stages of liver fluke that is present at that time. See AHI leaflet on “Rumen fluke”.

Treatment failure: If treatments for liver fluke or for stomach/gut worms seem to be ineffective, it is important to discuss the problem with your veterinary practitioner and to have it investigated. Failure may be due to faulty dosing technique, inaccurate calibration of the dosing gun, poor estimation of live-weight or resistance to the drug employed. Resistance to triclabendazole, levamisole, benzimidazoles and ivermectins has been reported in Ireland but how widespread it is among cattle parasites is unclear.

Lice and mange: Injectable avermectins are effective against some types of lice and mange, while topically applied avermectins are effective against all types.

Topical insecticides such as pyrethroids or amitraz are effective against skin parasites but not against internal parasites. For effective control of lice, all animals in a shed must be treated at the same time.

10 GRASS ROOTS

November 2017

Nutritional management of winter finishing cattle to prevent acidosis Brian Garry, Ruminant Nutrition Specialist, Teagasc Moorepark, Fermoy, Co.Cork Grass silage is the predominant feedstuff for cattle in Ireland during the winter period. In winter finishing systems where conserved grass quality is low it may not be suitable for achieving sufficient weight gain to finish cattle to a suitable specification. A less expensive option for finishing cattle might include the use of concentrate in an ad libitum diet with minimal roughage. The advantages of ad libitum feeding are improved and predictable cattle performance, better kill out and quicker turnover of cattle. When planning to start feeding cattle any concentrate care should be taken to avoid digestive upsets.

Acidosis Normal rumen pH (the level of acidity of the rumen) fluctuates between 5.8 and 6.3. Sub-acute ruminal acidosis (SARA) occurs where rumen pH falls below 5.8 but remains above 5.5 and clinical acidosis occurs when rumen pH falls below 5.5.

Where acidosis is present, there will be an increased risk of laminitis and liver abscesses occurring. Key to any nutritional feeding strategy is to minimise the risk of this occurring.

Concentrate feed should be introduced gradually to cattle, aim for 21 to 25 days to adapt cattle to their diet. Starting with 3 kg feeding rate and gradually increasing by 1.5kg every 4 days until target level of feeding is achieved, is advised to minimise risk of digestive upsets. Avoid changing the concentrate formulation during the finishing period as this can also lead to a higher risk of acidosis.

Diet formulation Finishing cattle achieving high levels of performance require a high energy diet which must also ensure a healthy rumen so that digestive upsets are limited. It is essential that the diet contains a source of long fibre, which is typically straw ad libitum (minimum 10% of total dry matter intake). A higher

BEEF inclusion level should be used for silage as it contains less fibre than straw.

Concentrate specification can vary depending on what ingredients are available and their relative economic value. Concentrate for all finishing cattle should be above 0.92 UFV (Unite forragere viande) per kg fed. Cereals should make up the primary ingredient in any finishing concentrate.

Cereals contain starch, which promotes the growth of propionic and lactic acid producing bacteria in the rumen.

While high inclusion levels of cereals are desirable, it is recommended that starch levels should not exceed 25 to 30% of the total diet. Including a source of digestible fibre (up to 20 to 30% inclusion of concentrate formulation) can help aid rumen function and reduce the risk of acidosis. Ground cereals should not be used at high feeding levels. Rumen buffers such as sodium bicarbonate and lime flour can help maintain rumen pH and can act as an insurance policy against acidosis.

Feed Management Ad libitum feeding requires a high level of feed management if cattle are to achieve high levels of performance.

Feed troughs should never be allowed to go below 5% of feed remaining. Cleaning out feed troughs regularly will ensure that fresh feed is available.

Identifying acidosis Cattle suffering from acidosis may show obvious pain, kick at their belly, grind their teeth, go off their feed, walk with a tight, tiptoed gait or develop signs of colic. Cattle that have

Liver abscesses been off feed (due to other health problems) and start eating again may develop acidosis, and it can also occur in cattle on a full energy ration that have their feeding program disrupted. Dung will become loose and bubbles will be present.

Treatment Where individual cattle show mild signs of acidosis, a drench of 112 g of sodium bicarbonate in 600 ml of water can be administered orally followed by a half dose a few hours later. Cattle should be offered a diet with additional forage and reduced grain while recovering from acidosis. In severe cases of acidosis seek veterinary assistance immediately.

BEEF

EU MUST DELIVER

TRANSPARENCY IN FOOD CHAIN

being made by processors and retailers.”

“It is not good enough that companies who have such a central role in determining what consumers eat and how much they pay can hide behind opaque structures and keep their accounts out of public scrutiny. Most companies are required to publish accounts but processors are avoiding this by private company structures. On the other hand, multinational giants in the retailing sector, by virtue of the huge turnover in millions of products, can hide how much they make off the backs of farmers.”

ICSA president Patrick Kent says that the food chain needs to be much more transparent if farmers are to have any chance of making a viable “This has to change. We have seen farmers return in most farm enterprises.

“The EU must tackle the inherent lack of balance in the food chain. Farmers spend three years producing beef cattle, processors spend three week getting it to the shelf and it takes the retailers three days to sell it, yet farmers are the only ones not making a profit.”

“What is needed is compulsory audits of the food chain at EU level to see what margins are being made at processor and retailer level on key farm commodities such as meat, bread and dairy. We have very clear transparency around average farm margins but have very little information on what margins are

12 GRASS ROOTS

November 2017

squeezed more and more over the years and this has coincided with increasing concentration of processing and retailing in the hands of a few, dominant operators.”

“The EU Commission needs to take the lead by regulating this. ICSA was the first farm organisation to call for regulation and we want to see an EU authority being given the powers to audit the big players in processing and retailing with a view to publishing average margins across the sectors and with a view to calling to account businesses that engage in excess profiteering at the expense of both farmer and consumer.”

BEEF

National Hereford Calf Show 2017 Minister for Heritage and Culture Ms Heather Humphreys TD, attended the Irish Hereford livestock stand to launch the National Hereford Calf Show at this year’s National Ploughing Championships.

This is the 4th consecutive year this competition has been run since it was first created back in 2014.

The event has attracted visitors from Northern Ireland, the UK and Finland in the past.

A leading UK Hereford breeder has been invited to officiate as judge at the event.

Progeny of successful bloodlines from Ireland’s top herds will be on exhibition, some of which who have already had a very successful showing season at various summer shows, making it a true ‘Clash of the Titans’ event.

Based on previous events, entries are expected to go over 90. This gives the crowds

attending on the day an excellent opportunity to see some top quality Herefords with the potential to expand the Hereford gene pool.

Spectators hoping to buy a bull will have a large selection of sires to choose from as well as those who want to improve their breeding programme with the addition of a top breeding female.

The Irish Hereford Breed Society spokesperson commented “We would like to wish the best of luck to all of our exhibitors and express a huge thank you to our generous sponsors, as without them the event would not be feasible.”

“Special thanks should be made to the North Leinster Branch for their hard work in organising the event each year and last but not least, we would like to express our appreciation to the Management at GVM Tullamore for allowing us to hold the event on their grounds.”

Minister Andrew Doyle TD announces winners of 6 X €1000 Agricultural Education Bursaries

“Together with our partners we are very pleased with the response to the competition and with the efforts of the young aspiring agricultural enthusiasts who participated. We wish the six winners and the four runners up all of whom reached a very high standard every success in their chosen career path.” commented Larry Feeney – IHBS Secretary.

“The challenges arising for agriculture into the future will require increased education particularly in Agricultural Science. The environmental challenges facing the industry are many and varied depending on where in the world food is produced and where the world’s population is concentrated. We are confident that this competition has succeeded in highlighting the great need for further education in agriculture to meet the needs of a growing population.”

The Irish Hereford Breed Society, in collaboration with Slaney Foods International & LIDL Ireland have awarded 6 bursaries of €1,000 each to 6 successful candidates at the 86th National Ploughing Championships which took place in Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly.

The programme, which was launched earlier in the spring, created wide interest from prospective and aspiring agricultural students wishing to go to Agricultural College or study Agriculture at 3rd level in the Republic of Ireland this year.

Participants had to submit an assignment entitled: Ireland’s Green Grass – Our Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow (maximum 2,000 words).

A team of adjudicators selected ten qualifiers to attend for interview at the Irish Hereford Breed Society Stand during this year’s National Ploughing Championships.

These interviews and the selection of the final 6 winners was carried out by

Dr Stephen Conroy, Manager of the Progeny Test Centre, Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).

Andrew Doyle, Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, announced the six winners:

• • • • • •

Catherine Smyth, Navan, Co. Meath Lesley Lewis, Birr, Co. Offaly Lorraine Delaney, Cullohill, Co. Laois Noel Bardon, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath Andrew Hanbidge, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow John Mahon, Birr, Co. Offaly

left to right: Maeve McCleane - Lidl Ireland Director of Human Resources, Dr Stephen Conroy – Manager of the Progeny Test Centre (ICBF), Andrew Doyle Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture, Winners: Lorraine Delaney, Andrew Hanbidge, Catherine Smyth, Lesley Lewis, John Mahon & Noel Bardon, Rory Fanning – Slaney Foods Managing Director & Pat McCarthy – IHBS President.

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November 2017 13

VG 85 Radney Levi 5 (YRY) daughter

Spreading

Breeding Opinion

the Risk!

Tom Baker

Breeding & Business Development Manager, Eurogene Aiservices.

Perhaps it’s a sign of old age but definitely as one gets older, I find myself more risk adverse.

Yes, the younger generation are always full of enthusiasm & willing to ‘take a chance’ but I am asking myself if I really want to use 100% genomic sires on my herd or should I spread the risk?

The latest Interbull proof run has seen many popular Genomic sires fall from their lofty heights now that they have attained a daughter proof.

The Statisticians will continue to defend the use of these sires on the basis that ‘on average’ they outperform daughter proven sires as they are a generation ahead etc but quoting averages can be a very dangerous thing.

The big issue for Irish farmers is that they have heavily used these high ranking sires that have now ‘gone through the floor’, while the lower ranking bulls that may actually have increased will have little or no effect on the national herd in terms of their overall use. Statistics can be used in many ways.

The selection of a team of six/seven bulls at a minimum is the correct strategy as there will be movement even with daughter proven sires. However, I believe that there also now needs to be a re-evaluation of the official line coming from the key advisory bodies.

Everybody wants to see continued improvement in the national herd but perhaps a more prudent approach such as advising farmers to select 2/3 daughter proven sires alongside 4/5 genomic sires surely makes more sense?

Personally, I believe this is the correct approach and would like to start the debate now as other issues emerge such as slow milking daughters of Genomic Sires, an issue like milking speed can be as frustrating for Irish farmers as disappointing proofs.

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EVENT FEATURE

The 35th National Dairy Show will be held in

Millstreet, Co. Cork on the 21st of October.

This year’s Show is designed to attract an audience throughout our farming community and welcomes attendance from all; both urban and rural, town and country and to deliver a great family day out with something for everyone.

As in previous years the majority of the events at the show will be under cover in a venue that offers restaurant facilities and free car parking in addition to live demonstrations of cattle and machinery and with a particular emphasis this year on Farm Safety and Rural Crime Prevention.

The artisan Food Village will showcase produce from up to twenty producers with the exciting addition this year of TV Chef, Richy Virahsawmy, of RTÉ’s popular Today Show, demonstrating how best to use the produce in a purpose built kitchen at the venue.

The younger visitors will be enthralled by the new addition of a small animal farm with both familiar and more exotic species.

The keen interest in trade stand space at the show continues to amaze, with interest this year recorded as early as January resulting in upward of 150 stands booking their space with a wide range of products from the latest in milking technology to animal nutrition, veterinary products, detergents,

animal dosing, AI companies and leading financial institutions.

Other new features at this year’s show sure to garner keen interest from farmers is when leading tractor sales teams take part in tractor and loader bale handling demonstrations at intervals throughout the day.

Also new to the show is an insight into modern cattle restraining crates and a live hoof paring demo too.

The show will focus on the high risk nature of farming that is unfortunately all too familiar with the startling statistics in the industry.

The Farm Relief Services (FRS) and Road Safety Authority (RSA) will be focusing on best practice in preventing farm accidents.

Rural Crime Prevention also features at this year’s show as theft and break-ins grow in rural area, Garda Siochana are attending this year to offer advice and assistance to help combat the worrying trend.

The 2016 running of the event was unique in that animals and handlers from all 26 counties competed at the event.

It is thought that this could be replicated this year when all titles achieved by breeders through the past year are laid on the line in Millstreet.

It could be called the All Ireland final of cattle exhibiting and showing as again over 200 of the top Holstein and Jersey cattle will compete for national honours.

The YMA Showmanship League will get proceedings underway on Friday evening, 20th October followed by the under 12 handlers and under 18 handlers where 1st and 2nd place in each of these two categories will compete for Champion Junior Handler of the show.

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EVENT FEATURE

The judging of the cattle classes will commence at on Saturday morning when well attended classes will horns for the various championships throughout the culmination in the Irish Examiner Supreme Champion of being crowned that evening.

9am lock day, 2017

Exhibitors are eagerly awaiting the arrival of world renowned cattle judge, Mr. Brian Carscadden from Canada.

Brian grew up on a dairy farm in Ontario and holds a BSC in Agriculture. His career has taken him from a sire analyst for United Breeders, Ontario to his current role in the Semex Alliance.

Donal Whelton AIB, Pat O’Connor Dovea AI, Sean Clarke IFA and Seamus Crowley NDS Committee.

During the day a number of other awards will also be presented including the National Dairy Innovation Award which recognises a product that is new to the Irish market during the previous 12 months and which is open to an individual or company in one of 3 categories, namely scientific, technology and engineering with Gold and Silver prizes awarded in each category along with an overall winner.

The Best Trade Stand Award is also always hotly contested on the day and the result eagerly awaited as is the National Recognition Award which is presented to person or persons who are judged to have made a major contribution to the dairy industry and in particular breed promotion.

The show will be officially opened this year by recently retired rugby international, Mike Ross.

Show Committee members Seamus Crowley, John Kirby, Jane O’Mahony, Philip Whitley and Maria Burke.

Mike is also a graduate of dairy farming, having grown up on the home farm near Ballyhooly in North Cork where he still inspects the progress of the Convamore Herd when he gets a chance on his visits home.

Mike’s early rugby career started with Fermoy underage, the club that his father Frank played with distinction for many years.

From there he progressed through the UCC ranks before joining Cork Con and then onto a professional contract in England with Harlequins until 2009 when he returned to Leinster where he played for 7 very successful seasons.

After 61 Irish caps and two Six Nation Championships, Mike retired from professional rugby in 2017 with a reputation of one of the great scrummagers.

He has also generously agreed to sign one of the new Irish jerseys which officially go on sale at the end of this year and together with a signed ruby ball and a hamper of goods will be up for grabs as door prizes on the day of the Show.

John O’Donavan FBD, Sean O’Flynn Farm Store, Jim Cleary FBD and John Kirby Show Director.

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All information relevant to the Show can be found on the website, www.nationaldairyshow.ie where pre-purchase of tickets are also available.

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Tel/Fax: 052 613 17 21 Mobile: 086 254 00 11 Email: Agristocksupplements@eircom.net Website: www.agristock.ie

EVENT FEATURE

IHFA Advertorial

IHFA Pedigree Registration: quality product adding value to your brand

The Holstein Friesian breed is uniquely positioned to add value to dairy farming business into the future.

The breed is positively positioned in that it offers choice through genetic variation to suit all dairy farming systems.

It is backed by scientific research and is the most efficient converter of grass and forages into milk solids to add value to farm business.

The extra efficiency in milk solids of the pedigree registered Holstein especially in a year of low milk prices is adding in excess of 60 Kgs or over €200 per cow in value in 2016 at the average price of €3.76 per Kg of Milk solids.

The difference in value of increased output at the current price of €4.60 per Kg of milk solids is worth €290 per cow or over €20,000 when expressed as a 70 cow herd.

This commercial advantage over many generations guaranteed through careful selection of cow families, validated data and traceability, long lasting cows through conformation scoring and sales of superior stock available as a result of low herd replacement requirements is a strong endorsement for the pedigree registered Holstein Friesian.

Stock Sales - evidence of Holstein Friesian Profitability & Popularity The demand for Pedigree Registered stock continues to strengthen as witnessed at recent sales including both National IHFA Open Day Celebratory sales, Lisduff Holsteins sale and Carnaross livestock sales.

With prices achieved averaging well in excess of €2,000 it is testament to the proven popularity and recognised profitability of the Holstein Friesian.

Cull cow & Calf Value:The Holstein Friesian also impacts positively on family farm income through cull cow and calf values attained as an added income stream over milk production.

The level of contribution towards family farm income has been estimated at 6 cent/litre by Teagasc research.

Cow Families - Consistency of Breeding IHFA Pedigree Registration uniquely captures the powerful breeding delivered by strong cow families.

The proven performance of the maternal line is a foundation stone for herd development.

Cow families deliver generation after generation and provide for repeatability of performance.

This can be an important distinguishing factor in selecting the genetics of the next generation as genomic estimates of male breeding values are factored on predictions whereas cow families capture proven performance passed on generation after generation.

GRADE UP: IHFA has an open herdbook which means new members are welcome to join and through its Grade-Up service can then go on to attain Pedigree status for their herd.

The process involved is very simple. On thousands of dairy farms throughout the country there is an accumulation of good breeding records built up over many years.

Based on such records, the Grade-Up service can provide a pathway to attain Pedigree Holstein Friesian status. It is a streamlined process to add value to these records that have been built up through the years and indeed over generations of farm families.

Linear Scoring: Conformation scoring and Classification are valued IHFA services in helping dairy farmers reach specific breeding goals for their herd.

It is an independent, unbiased linear assessment of the functional components of cows in your herd.

The linear scores attained build-up over generations of breeding and this can help add value to cow families.

The data collected is also used in conveying the message of a bull’s transmitting pattern which all dairy farmers can assess in making informed breeding decisions.

Results of IHFA Promotion at the National Ploughing Championships A Pedigree Registered Holstein Friesian heifer calf was 1st prize in the free competition held at the Irish Holstein Friesian Associa-

18 GRASS ROOTS

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tion pavillion at the National Ploughing Championships. Entry to the competition was free, based on an estimated guess of the total kgs of milk solids produced by one of the Holstein Friesian cows on display and asked for a guess as to her Classification score. The team of seven cows, all in-milk, was a showcase of the efficient production and wide genetic variation inherent within the breed. Average values for these cows was; Milk Production

8,872 kg

Milk Solids Production

664 kg

Fat%

3.97 %

Protein %

3.49 %

EBI

€ 84

Classification

VG 88.6

The daily milking of the cows within the pavillion drew large crowds every day, as for many visitors it was a novel attraction.

Congratulations to the prize winners; 1st place winner of a Pedigree Registered Holstein Friesian heifer calf sponsored by IHFA; Ciaran Deasy, Timoleague, Co. Cork.

2nd place winner of €1,000 worth of Ecosyl silage additive sponsored by Volac; Ann Whelan, Tullow, Co. Carlow.

The team of cows were kindly loaned by local breeders; Damien Brennan (Kilclonfert), Kevin Flynn (Rearyvalley), Fearghal Sullivan (Kilduff), Peter Ging (Ballyclider), Pat Cleary (Carrickshock).

Youth Members: YMA is the organisation within IHFA that caters for young members up to the age of twenty-six. A talent base of enthusiastic young people is so important for the continued prosperity of any Association and there are many YMA events and competitions tha t cater for the young generation. There are local YMA clubs of like-minded young people across the country .

Congratulations to YMA who held a very successful calf show at Cilin Hill, Kilkenny on 25th/26h July. IHFA wish to express thanks to the National officers Avril Helen-Chairperson, Emer KellyNational Coordinator and joint PRO’s Mary Conroy & Marie Doran also the organising committee.

New competitions were introduced such as Ag Analysis and Sportsmanship Award which helped broaden the scope of the event.

The YMA Showmanship League final held as part of the National Dairy Show, Green Glens arena, Millstreet is the finale event in what has been a very busy and successful year for the Young Members.

National Dairy Innovation

Award 2017

The specialist dairy trade stand exhibition has hit record numbers as well for the 35th running of the National Dairy Show. One of the main attractions for trade exhibitors is the National Dairy Innovation Awards.

This too has attracted a record number of twenty two finalists.

This award means that all the latest products that are targeted to improve dairy farm efficiency and work load are on show within the indoor arena.

The award rewards a new product or service, which has been launched in the past 12 months that has revolutionised some aspect of dairy farming.

As well as an overall winner, there are also awards in three individual sections - Scientific, Technology and Engineering.

Shannon based company True North Technologies Ltd scooped the overall award last year with their product, Grasshopper, which was developed by Phd student Diarmuid McSweeney and True North Technologies founder Paddy Halton with the assistance of Teagasc, Moorepark.

EVENT FEATURE

The list of 22 finalists for 2017 are: AB Vista Agrihealth Agri-Needs Anthony Lyons Cargill Clippers Ireland Collins Pumps DairyGeyser Dangen Devenish Enviraculture Exochute FBD Grassland Agro MooCall North Cork Dairy Services Pearson Platt Animal Bedding Saber Sobac Tyre2Tyre Virtual Vet

EVENT FEATURE

Katie Hall (Bonanza), Ed Roberts (CCF) and Eileen Jamison

Bonanza Calf Nutrition

yielding Results Heifer calves reared on a two-step milk replacer system at a Welsh dairy farm are doubling their birth weights before weaning.

The Jamieson family trade as Hendre Eynon Farm Ltd at Penberry Farm, St Davids, where they run a spring block calving herd.

They calve their heifers at two years so daily liveweight gains are crucial to achieving growth targets at bulling.

Maintaining the high health status of the herd is also important, in particular measures to safeguard animals from the performance limiting disease, Johne’s.

Eileen Jamieson, who is in charge of calf rearing on the farm, says two products manufactured by Bonanza Calf Nutrition allow both goals to be achieved.

All heifer replacements are born within a three-week window. A hired marquee, attached to an existing shed, provides additional housing for the calving and rearing period.

After calves are born their first two feeds are 3 litres of colostrum. After that, for up to 10 days, they get Transformula, a product designed specifically for use after colostrum feeding.

Transformula is made with over 60% skim milk and buttermilk along with five plant oils and whey protein so it is easily digested by the baby calf. The product is dried under low temperatures to ensure the baby calf is not 20 GRASS ROOTS

November 2017

exposed to high bacterial counts found in stored raw cow’s milk. These bacteria remove antibodies from the milk and can have pathogenic effects as well.

“Before we used Transformula we were feeding the calves cows’ milk but by doing so we were risking exposing the calves to Johne’s,’’ Eileen explains.

“Transformula gives us control of the situation and we don’t get any issues with scour. We haven’t lost a single heifer calf this season.’’

The Jamiesons buy Transformula through CCF Ltd. Ed Roberts, of CCF Ltd, describes the product as a fantastic way of transferring calves from colostrum to milk. “It allows for a slow and steady change and that is good for the health of the calf,’’ he says.

After 10 days on Transformula, the calves at Penberry Farm are given Shine Once-a-Day milk replacer twice a day for 18 days. The same product is then fed once-a-day until calves are weaned at eight weeks. Calves also have access to straw, calf pellets and clean water at all times.

Eileen says the calves have performed well on Transformula and Shine Once-a-Day. “Their coats are glossy, we don’t get scour and they are growing extremely well. What more could we ask.’’

Transformula is about giving calves a lot of goodness for 8 days instead of a little over 8 weeks, said Katie Hall of Bonanza Calf Nutrition. For example, she explained, one feed of Transformula contains as much egg protein as many of the calf doses or syringes on sale in the UK. Also, feeding Transformula is safer to feed than most stored transition milk found on farm as many have high TBCs nullifying the health benefits contained in the milk. It can also lead to the spread of Mycoplasma Bovis as well as johnes disease.

EVENT FEATURE

Advertorial

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Are you fed up doing paperwork at night!

How about doing it beside your spreader or sprayer...

In a few seconds… With your phone!

Sounds good?

Well Kingswood Computing has just launched a solution which is simple, convenient and cost-effective.

Kingswood Fields is a phone/tablet-based App, which allows you record spraying, fertiliser and harvest events as they happen. No more need for paper records or PCs! Kingswood Fields can operate anywhere on the farm (even where there’s no signal), however once you come back to the farm house/office, the data is safely sent to the Kingswood server for safe storage.

Very little typing is required, as the App comes preloaded with names and PCS numbers of sprays, fertiliser types and crop varieties.

Keying in a few letters of the name brings up the correct item. PCS numbers can be easily verified from the label as you enter them.

Reports can be easily printed for management or auditing purposes and the App ensures the farmer is fully compliant with all Bord Bia, Glas, Single Farm Payment and IGAS (Irish Grain assurance Scheme) requirements.

The Field Record Card is a particular favourite with our tillage users. It generates a simple Profit Monitor for each field, giving the margin of crop revenue over the cost of the various field activities, such as spraying and fertiliser spreading.

For the dairy and beef farmer, there’s even some basic grass management. The App takes in grass measurements and generates a simple Feed Wedge.

In addition it calculates spring and autumn Rotation Planners, in accordance with the requirements of the Dept. of Agriculture Knowledge Transfer Scheme.

For the more advanced grass manager, the App can be used to link up with Kingswood’s sophisticated PC-based grass software.

Cost of the Kingswood Fields App is €100 per year (including VAT). Existing Kingswood customers can arrange for their farming colleagues to get access to a 30 day trial run on it.

Try it and believe!

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November 2017 21

DAIRY SHOW EVENT FEATURE

Drying Off Cows:

Best Practice

By Don Crowley, Dairy Hygiene Specialist, Teagasc

9. Always start with front left teat, administer dry cow tube and sealer to front teats.

This procedure is often taken for granted.

10. Clean back teats with meths and cotton wool.

In many farms it is not given the care and attention it deserves, resulting in many incidences of poor cure rates during the dry period and routinely resulting in cows calving down with a higher cell count than at time of drying off.

Prior to dry off you should establish cure rate and new infection rate for the previous dry cow period. This can be seen in the cell check report sheet which is carried out with every milk recording.

Identification of which dry cow preparation should be selected based on cell check report sheet, an accurate culture and sensitivity, plus a discussion with your Veterinary surgeon.

11. Administer dry cow plus teat sealer and post spray all cows.

Dry Cow routine: This procedure pays to implement properly. The following routine should be carried out: Clipping Tails is essential, especially this winter cows were very loose and dirty at drying off.

12. Continue procedure for remainder of cows.

13. If possible heavy milking cows (i.e. >15 litres/day) and cows

likely to leak after drying off should be left out to a bare paddock for 7 to 10 days.

14. Always mark with spray marker, take note of number and dry date.

Mastitis problems originating in the Dry Period. a. When more than 10% of cows calve with cell count > 200,000 cells ml. b. Where more than 10% of cows have a positive CMT at 4 days in milk. c. If more than 1 in 12 cows develop mastitis in the first 30 days.

When the above issues arise a big impact can be made in productivity and profitability by improving dry cow management.

You should look at AHI web site and go to cellcheck page to update on dry cow issues.

1. Abrupt drying off is crucial.

2. Dry off in batches of 10 if greater numbers organise help. Remember if using sealer 80 tubes will be applied to these 10 cows.

3. Draft out group of cows, and leave until end of milking.

4. Clean out parlour and organise tubes (and sealer, if required) plus methalyated spirits plus cotton wool.

5. Go and have some breakfast.

6. Turn off Mobile phone.

7. A new set of gloves for drying off.

8. Start with front teats and clean with cotton wool and meths.

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November 2017 23

MACHINERY

Tractor and Loader Demo

This months National Dairy Show offers a unique opportunity to see six brands of tractors and loaders working in the one demonstration arena.

tractor. The 6700S Series offers optional SpeedSteer, which allows the operator to adjust the steering ratio for more or fewer turns of the steering wheel. While loaders do come with an optional multifunction joystick with forward/reverse and speed change for added versatility.

The brands planned for action on the 21st of October are Massey Ferguson, Claas, John Deere, Kubota, Valtra and New Holland. Local trailer manufacturer, Lynch Trailers, will provide the trailers required at the event in the Green Glens Arena, Millstreet, Co. Cork.

John Deere

Class The Claas Arion 440 with a Claas FL100 loader attached will be demonstrated by McCarthy’s Plant and Agri Sales. The key feature to the 120HP tractor is the panoramic cab with a windscreen area of 2.41 m2 and provides a 90° view of the front loader. The range offers two transmission variants, the quadrishift and now the hexashift transmission. The hexashift transmission can be used on the road at a lower engine rpm with four automated ranges and six power-shift stages. A six power-shift stages allow for a large gear overlap while 24 gears can be conveniently changed using the multifunctional lever, without having to use the clutch pedal.

Other competition will fear the Deere when FarmPower roll out the 5100R model with the John Deere 543R loader attached.

The 5100R is a 100hp rated model that offers a choice of mechanical or new E joysticks, both linked to the tractor seat for front loader operation. It is powered by 4.5-litre John Deere PWX diesel-only four-cylinder engine which produces 10 extra hp for transport applications.

The newly designed 5R Series tractor cab offers a tiltable steering column, PDU+ cornerpost display, panoramic front windshield and an ergonomic control panel. In addition, the new 543R front loader offers automatic mast and implement latch.

Kubota

Masey Ferguson The red team from Cork Farm Machinery will bring the 6715S with a Massey Ferguson 966 loader. The 150HP Massey is powered with a 4.9L AGCO Power 4-cylinder diesel engine. The larger tractor offers the unique benefits of a 4 cylinder machine with the pulling, pushing and lifting power to match a comparable 6 cylinder

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November 2017

Atkins Farm Machinery will demonstrate the new M5.111 Kubota tractor with Kubota’s own loader attached. This 113HP model is powered by a four cylinder V3800 Kubota 16-valve engine meets the Tier IV emissions standard. The 40-ECO transmission with six synchronised gears, with dual speed High-Lo technology.

The panoramic visibility in the cab is increased thanks to the sunroof with a sliding sun visor. The M5001 tractor can be equipped with the LA1854 shovel specifically designed by Kubota for this tractor.A key safety feature are the anti-lowering valves, which allow the shovel to maintain its position even if the system suffers pressure losses.

MACHINERY

New Gators with Pressurised Cab

Valtra

The Scandinavian pairing of a Valtra tractor and a Quicke loader will represent Paudie Buckleys. The 135HP model from the Golden Tractor for Design award winning N Series represents the Northern European manufacturer. The N134 tractor is available in four transmission options including HiTech, Active, Versu and Direct models.

The powershift tractors have a hill-hold feature, a patented hydraulics assistant and Automatic Slip Regulator (ASR).

The ASR is an innovation in the tractor which works as in passenger cars, the traction control system limits engine power if the sensors and tyre speed exceed a set level.

The brand new petrol XUV 835M and diesel XUV 865M models join John Deere’s new full-size Gator utility vehicles range.The new models will be available from UK and Irish dealers in early 2018.

The 54hp XUV 835M and 23hp 865M offer power steering, a CVT transmission and a top speed of 37 or 31mph (60 or 50kph) respectively, plus a tight turning circle and optimal weight distribution.

For extra versatility, these Gators can be fitted with a wide range of over 90 attachments from snow blades to winches, and feature a large 42 - litre fuel tank to keep the vehicle running longer between fill-ups.

The pressurised cab can accommodate three people, for off-road use only.

New Holland

Colemans of Millstreet plan to demonstrate the top four cylinder tractor model in the T6 Series. The T6.175 has a rated engine HP of 145.

The newly launched Dynamic Command featuring a new 8-step semi powershift transmission is the only one in this segment on the market.

The 8-step semi-powershift, transmission is a Dual Clutch concept, similar to that which operates the seamless range shifting within the Auto Command transmission.A key feature is the Dynamic StartStop which allows one press of the brake pedal and the tractor will slow and come to a standstill, there’s no need to engage neutral or depress the clutch pedal.

This new cab incorporates noise isolation and sound dampening components, making it the quietest yet available on the Gator range. It also offers year-round weather protection and the heating system includes a windscreen defrost feature. Both these new, sleekly styled XUV Gator models feature ample legroom and a tiltable steering wheel. The versatile and durable cargo box has a load capacity of 454kg, while towing capacity has been increased by a third to 907kg and total payload capacity is 680kg.

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November 2017 25

MACHINERY

A Limited Edition 175 CVX Marks Anniversary The jubilee model also marks ten years’ production of the Puma line, the St. Valentin, Austrian-built seven-model range which spans from 150 to 240hp.

Jerome Increase Case founded his eponymous farm equipment business in 1842, in the US town of Racine, Wisconsin, where the worldwide headquarters of the Case IH agricultural business remain today.

In 1869, Case manufactured the first steam-engined tractor designed to power stationary implements, and seven years later built the first self-propelled traction steam engine.

As steam power began to supersede horses for operating threshing machines, the JI Case Threshing Machine Company became the world’s largest producer of steam engines by 1886.

In 1902, five US farm equipment firms merged to form the International Harvester Company.

Case IH was created in 1985 when J I Case acquired the agricultural division of International Harvester.

The Puma 175 CVX Jubilee Edition is finished in a distinctive ‘Viper Stryker’ pearlescent red inherited Case IH has created a 175th anniversary version of the from the Case IH Autonomous Concept Vehicle (ACV). It Puma 175 CVX tractor. also carries unique 175th anniversary decals, only 175 are to be built.

The sleek pearlescent red edition will be available in a Anyone who orders a Puma 175 CVX in the limit of the limited production run to mark 175 years since the founding available stock will receive delivery of a Limited Edition of the company that became today’s Case IH Agriculture. version at no additional cost.

Traffic Stop Highlights Trailer Licence

A traffic stop by An Garda Síochána earlier in the year was posted on social media to highlight the issue of license categories for pulling trailers behind category ‘B’ licence vehicles.

The @GardaTraffic Twitter account posted a traffic stop of a 4x4 vehicle pulling a horse box where the driver was not the holder of a E+B licence.

It was also noted that the driver was using a mobile phone prior to the stop. The stop occurred in Wexford by the traffic unit. A court case is pending.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) advice that before towing a light trailer, it is important that you 26 GRASS ROOTS

November 2017

understand what combinations of towing vehicles and trailers you are allowed to drive depending on the category of driving licence They also highlight it is important to distinguish between a driving licence (which is a full driving licence) and a Learner Permit which is a permit issued to learners to enable them to learn how to drive. Both documents have different entitlements.

A category B driving licence authorises you to drive a car, van or 4 x 4 which has a maximum mass (as specified by the manufacturer) of not more than 3,500kg and is designed and constructed to carry no more than eight passengers in addition to the driver.

You may tow a trailer with a maximum mass (again as specified by the manufacturer) not greater than 750kg, or where the maximum mass is more than 750kg, the combined maximum mass of the towing vehicle and the trailer is not greater than 3,500kg.

A category BE driving licence authorises you to tow a trailer where the combined maximum mass of the towing vehicle and trailer is greater than 3,500kg.

As a general rule, a category B licence does not entitle the holder to tow a horsebox or a livestock trailer because the combined maximum mass would exceed 3,500kg.

The holder of a Category B Learner permit may not tow any trailer – whatever the size.

Tri-Auger Feeder Designed for Manoeuvrability

Abbey Machinery have launched a Tri Auger Feeder in the last 12 months. Since then they have been showcasing their class leading VF3350 worldwide. They have recognised that as farmers focus on grass quality they take out strong grass and bale it. This feed needs to be efficiently fed and that’s where their low profile chopping technology in their feeders effectively chop, mix and feed out with minimal HP in comparison to load size.

Michael O’Grady of the Tipperary manufacturer, remarked “We unveiled our new Tri-Auger Diet Feeder and farmers were impressed with the capacity over a relatively small foot print”

MACHINERY

On of the key features is a narrow design, with low overall heights for improved manoeuvrability, while facilitating various shed heights.

Also helping manoeuvrable is a self-steering bogie running gear for advanced movement around the yard.

The feeding technology has also been expanded with the launch of a new conveyor option, the Sliding and Raising Conveyor. The raised conveyor matches discharge heights in both confined areas and yards with wide central feed areas. This unique conveyor is a versatile solution for high feeding bunkers (up to 1.5m high), importantly without limiting feeder capacity.

New Holland dealer M&S Machinery to become Harvester dealer in Ireland New Holland recently announced the appointment of M&S Machinery of Cashel, Co Tipperary, as a Harvester dealer for New Holland in Ireland, specialising in the sales and service of Combine harvesters, Forager harvesters and Baler products.

Established in 1980, M&S originally started out as a Fiat Agri dealer. They have since evolved into a New Holland dealership offering the current range of both New Holland’s agriculture and construction ranges.

In 2015, they expanded their operating area to the county of Limerick.

Pat Slattery, M&S Machinery’s Dealer Principal, says about the expansion: “We are confident that we have the right people in place to be able to deliver a professional service and are looking forward to promoting the New Holland brand of Harvester in the new territory.”

“Myself and the rest of the team at M&S are relishing the challenge this new opportunity presents and look forward to the challenges ahead.”

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TILLAGE

Deep learning: no escape even for agrochemicals

By IDTechEx, Cambridge, UK

New robotics is already quietly transforming many aspects of agriculture, and the agrochemicals business is no exception.

Here, intelligent and autonomous robots can enable ultraprecision agriculture, potentially changing the nature of the agrochemicals business.

In this process, bulk commodity chemical suppliers will be transformed into speciality chemical companies, whilst many will have to reinvent themselves, learning to view data and artificial intelligence (AI) as a strategic part of their overall crop protection offerings.

Computer vision Computer vision is already commercially used in agriculture. In one use case, simple row-following algorithms are employed, enabling a tractor-pulled implement to automatically adjust its position.

This relieves the pressure on the driver to maintain an ultra-accurate driving path when weeding to avoid inadvertent damage to the crops.

The computer vision technology is however already evolving past this primitive stage. Now, implements are being equipped with full computer systems, enabling them to image small areas, to detect the presence of plants, and to distinguish between crop and weed.

The system can then instruct the implement to take a site-specific precision action to, for example, eliminate the weed.

In the future, the system has the potential to recognise different crop and weed types, enabling it to take further targeted precision action.

This technology is already commercial, although at a small scale and only for specific crops. The implements are still very much custom built, assembled and ruggedised for agriculture by the start-ups themselves.

This situation will continue until the market is proven, forcing the developers to be both hardware and software specialists. Furthermore, the implements are not yet fully reliable and easy to operate, and the upfront machine costs are high, leading the developers to favour a robotic-as-a-service business model.

Nonetheless, the direction of travel is clear: data will increasingly take on a more prominent (strategic) role in agriculture. This is because the latest image processing techniques, based on deep learning, feed on large datasets to train themselves.

Indeed, a time-consuming challenge in applying deep learning techniques to agriculture is in assembling large-scale sets of tagged data as training fodder for the algorithms.

The industry needs its equivalents of image databases used for facial recognition and developed with the help of internet images and crowd-sourced manual labelling. In not too distant a future, a series of image processing algorithms will emerge, each focused on some set of crop or weed type. In time, these capabilities will inevitably expand, allowing the algorithms to become applicable to a wider set of circumstances.

In parallel, and in tandem with more accumulated data (not just images but other indicators such NDVA too), algorithms will offer more insight into the status of different plants, laying the foundation of ultra-precision farming on an individual plant basis.

Agriculture is a challenging environment for image processing. Seasons, light, and soil conditions change, whilst the plant themselves transform shape as they progress through their different stages of growth.

Nonetheless, the accuracy threshold that the algorithms in agriculture must meet are lower than those found in many other applications such as autonomous general driving.

This is because an erroneous recognition will, at worse, result in elimination of a few healthy crops, and not in fatalities. This, of course, matters economically but is a not safety critical issue and is thus not a showstopper. This lower threshold is important because achieving higher levels of accuracy becomes increasingly challenging.

This is because after an initial substantial gain in accuracy improvement the algorithms enter the diminishing returns phase where lots more data will be needed for small accuracy gains.

Consequently, algorithms can be commercially rolled out in agriculture far sooner, and based on orders of magnitude lower data sizes and with less accuracy, than in many other applications.

Navigational autonomy Agriculture is already a leading adapter of autonomous mobility technology. Here, the autosteer and autoguide technology, based on outdoor RTK GPS localisation, are already well-established.

The technology is however already moving towards full level-5 autonomy.

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The initial versions are likely to retain the cab, enabling the farmer/driver to stay in charge, ready to intervene, during critical tasks such as harvesting.

Unmanned cable versions will also emerge when technology reliability is proven and when users begin to define staying in charge as remote fleet supervision.

The evolution towards full unmanned autonomy has major implications. It may give rise to fleets of small, slow, lightweight agricultural robots (agrobots).

These fleets today have limited autonomous navigational capability and suffer from limited productivity, both in individual and fleet forms.

This will however ultimately change as designs/components become standardised and as the cost of autonomous mobility hardware inevitably goes down a steep learning curve.

Agrobots of the future Now we can see the silhouette of the agrobots of the future: small intelligent autonomous mobile robots taking precise action on an individual plant basis.

These robots can be connected to the cloud to share learning and data, and to receive updates en mass.

These robots can be modular, enabling the introduction of different sensor/ actuator units as required.

They will never be individually as productive as today’s powerful farm vehicles, but can be in fleet form if hardware costs are lowered and the fleet size-to-supervisor ratio is increased.

Now we can also see what this may mean for the agrochemicals business.

First, data and AI will become an indispensable part of the general field of crop protection, of which agrochemical supply will become only a subset, albeit still a major one.

This will mandate a major rethinking of the chemical companies’ business model and skillsets.

Second, non-selective blockbuster agrochemicals (together with engineered herbicide resistant seeds) may lose their total dominance. This is because the robots will apply a custom action for each plant, potentially requiring many specialised selective chemicals.

These will not happen overnight. The current approach is highly productive, particularly over large areas, and off-patent generic chemicals will further drive costs down.

The robots are low-lying today, constricting them to short crops.

Achieving precision spraying using high boys will be a mechanical and control engineering challenge. But these changes will come, diffusing into general use step by step and plant by plant.

True, this is a long term game, but playing it cannot be kicked into the long grass for long.

Combat Systems Sciences and Technology Program Naval Postgraduate student Ensign Tom Dunbar, works with an autonomous robot originally designed to maneuver in agricultural settings

MACRA-YOUTH

Glanmire Macra na Feirme crowned NDC All Ireland Bowling Champions The National Dairy Council All-Ireland Bowling crown is heading back to Seandun, Cork after Glanmire Macra recaptured a title they last held in 2010 on Sunday at the ALSAA Sports Centre in Dublin.

Fermoy Macra from Avondhu, Cork battled them all the way but were ultimately pipped at the post.

Macra na Feirme National President James Healy said, ‘Congratulations to all clubs who took part in the finals today and in particular to our new champions Glanmire Macra.

The various competitions we run throughout Macra na Feirme represent everything that is good about our organisation and I would like to thank the National Dairy Council for their ongoing support of our sports competitions.’

Amazing Working Lego Technic Baler The genius of a 13 year old created a fully functioning Baler with working pick up and netting.

Powered by the Lego Technic 42054 Claas Xerion 5000 Trac VC, every part used is Lego apart from drywall tape.

In completion, the outfit utilises ten motors to fully function.This incredible creation is available to see working on the creators youtube channel - The Brick Wall.

Other machines made include a trench digger, a lawn mower and a harvest machine which was created after being asked to harvest leeks and pick up fruit in the garden.

Pictured with President James Healy are the 2017 Macra na Feirme/National Dairy Council All Ireland Bowling Champions Glanmire Macra who took home the shield last Sunday at the ALSAA in Dublin . Back Row L-R: Zara Long, Tomás Cuffe, Will Daly. Front Row L-R: Karen Cashman, Donal O’Callaghan, Mairead O’Callaghan

Pictured with President James Healy at the Macra na Feirme/National Dairy Council All-Ireland Bowling Finals were Fermoy Macra L-R - Tom Ahern, Richard Foley, Shane O’Sullivan, Niamh Howard, Shelley O’Neill, Maeve Fogarty.

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MACHINERY

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